Stunning Fire Tornado Captured on Video During California's Tennant Wildfire

A stunning fire tornado was recently captured on video during the Tennant Wildfire in northern California.

The video, which was posted to Twitter by the National Weather Service in Medford, Oregon, shows a "fire whirl" stemming from the Tennant Wildfire, blowing smoke and fire into the air.

"Here is a video of a fire whirl from the #TennantFire on June 29th. After a survey from the IMET, this was likely the rotation our radar was picking up on the 29th. Credit to the US Forest Service for taking this video," the National Weather Service in Medford wrote in the tweet.

In a subsequent tweet, the National Weather Service said, "Our radar indicated anticyclonic rotation on the 29th as shown by the red outbound and green inbound winds in the radar image below."

The U.S. Forestry Service describes a fire whirl as a "spinning vortex column of ascending hot air and gases rising from a fire and carrying aloft smoke, debris, and flame."

According to the forestry service, "Fire whirls range in size from less than one foot to more than 500 feet in diameter. Large fire whirls have the intensity of a small tornado."

According to data from the InciWeb national wildfire information system, the Tennant Fire has burned at least 10,563 acres and is 79 percent contained. The fire was first reported by officials on June 28 and its cause remains under investigation.

"Due to the improvement of weather conditions overnight, fire behavior is predicted to be limited to smoldering fuels within the perimeter of the Tennant Fire, Resources have been methodically conducting mop-up operations to reach the objective of 100% containment," fire officials said in an InciWeb update.

"The threat to the control lines should diminish each day as any available fuel within the interior is consumed and crews increase the depth off of their mop-up."

Fire officials in California are also battling several other active wildfires, including the Lava Fire, which is burning southwest of the Tennant Fire.

According to InciWeb, the Lava Fire has burned over 25,000 acres and is 72 percent contained. The Lava Fire was first reported on June 24 and it was caused by lightning.

In a recent InciWeb update, officials said that four firefighters have been injured from the Lava Fire, and it has destroyed at least 17 structures, including 12 single residences.

Newsweek reached out to the Tennant Fire information system but did not receive a response in time for publication.